Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's possible to plant dianthus is to check out the USDA zone info for National City.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

Frost tolerance for dianthus:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Dianthus tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in National City is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in National City. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for National City is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in National City you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for National City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.